Short is good too.

I haven't been very much in a reading mood. Seems after I read a couple of long books I kind of tucker out but I've read a few Torquere shorter stories in the last 3 or 4 days.

Mr. Snowflake by Elana Hawk (25 pages)
Torquere Press

Devin is standing on his balcony in the snow thinking about his recent break-up with his girlfriend when suddenly a hot guy with dreads is kissing him. WTF? One, he's not gay and two, how the hell did a guy get on his balcony. He eventually invites him in and Michael (he has no name so Devin calls him Michael) explains that he's a snowflake who saw Devin "kissing he snow" so he kissed him back. Devin thinks he's a homeless nut, but a hot one and they get funky. When he wakes up Michael is melting and even putting him outside is no help. Does this mean Michael's gone forever? Is Devin gay? This was kind of cute, Michael was humorous with his lack of knowledge about some things, but he seemed to know all about the buttsecks, which was handy. I also enjoyed Devin having to wonder about his attraction to a man and it was pretty sad when Michael melted. I think I would have made the ending a little different myself, maybe a little less convenient, but hey, snowflake shifter (of sorts). Yeehaw. You go girl. The more unusual shifters out there the better I say. (No, I'm not writing that penguin shifter thing ... yet.)

Where There's a Will by BA Tortuga (81 pages)
Torquere Press

When Reggies dies of cancer, he leaves his multi-millions to his two best friends, Toby who was with him at the very end, and Keagan. Seems all three were best friends in college and you don't find out until later why Toby and Keagan had a falling out. He's leaving them the money on the condition that they both live together in his house for one year. They are both pissed, but if they refuse the money goes to fundamentalist Christian charities so they agree. Y0u then find the truth about why their friendship broke and FINALLY the BM is resolved (within a week or so) and HEA ensues (after a health crisis and drunkenness and fighting). I didn't really connect with this one. I did feel the pain of the loss of their friend, that was very evident, but the whole BM thing (you really aren't told how long this is after college but more than a couple of years) didn't work so well. I also found at times I wasn't sure who was talking and I had to go back and follow the dialogue "A, B, A, oh A again, B, A. That makes more sense" I did that more than once. On the whole I liked the part with the dying friend and Toby, better than Toby and Keagan.

Copper Country Gold by Taylor Lochland (80 pages)
Torquere Press

Steven is up checking out the Upper Peninsula in Michigan for a possible a geology teaching job at the college there. He meets Zach at the bar and they have a one night stand. He gets the job and a few months later he's back and runs into Zach at the mine where he gives tours. He's a bit stand-offish, but agrees to be friends even though Zach wants more. Of course Zach has a secret and when on a camping/field trip with some high school students, Steven gets himself in a pickle, Zach goes against his clan's leader and reveals himself to Steven to save him. This then leads to a crisis within Zach's clan as they decide what to do with him and the fact that Steven knows their secret. I enjoyed this one, it's pretty light on the whole and I liked that Steven pulled back when he moved there, when Zach, Mr. One-Night-Stand, wanted more and let their friendship develop. Zach's personality was also very likable. A cute fast little read.

Wear Purple Day - October 20

October 20 has been declared the day to wear purple in honour of those young people who've taken their own lives due to bullying over their sexuality or perceived sexuality. Unfortunately I don't own anything that is suitable for the workplace in purple, however I will be sure to wear it when I get home. So the best I can do today is provide you with some other official supporters of the cause along with some dancing Asian boys in a song called Purple Line by DBSK.

Sunday Summary

I've actually been reading some longer books so not so many updates this week. But they've been good longer books so that's okay.

Back to Normal by Wren Boudreau (180 pages)
Loose Id

Greg is a freshly divorced teacher who works part-time in a fancy restaurant as a waiter. Unusually, the spirit of his dead aunt lives in his head an talks to him. The day after he finds out he's been laid off from his teaching job he finds out the restaurant is closing, but luckily the new owners hope to hire people. He is strangely attracted to Finn, one of the new owners and it's mutual but he is straight and not interested, unless he is of course. Finn is a confessed man-whore but agrees to back-off and help Greg figure out his life even if it means just friends. I really liked this. Aunt Coco was a hoot but also very touching and I thought Greg's older brother was great. I think Greg's reasons for being so deep in the closet were valid to a point but I liked how he worked through things and Finn didn't pressure him to try more. Something I read and thought "yes, finally" was that Greg had checked out gay porn when he decided to have sex so knew the mechanics. Too often these new gay guys are all "I don't know what to do". Jeez, any 12 year old can figure that out from google. Get with the times. LOL The only thing I would have liked to see what Greg's mother's response to him being out, or more of his family's reactions. A super second outing for Wren.

In the Flesh by Ethan Stone (286 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Cristian Flesh is an out-and-proud police detective and self-professed man-whore. He has rules, lots of rules, like no kissing, no sleepovers, etc. Life is good until not only is one of his lovers, a hardcore religious leader, stabbed, but the man he says did it is murdered and it looks like someone is setting Christian up for murder. His partner hires lawyer Colby to defend him and he can't help being attracted to the sexy black lawyer, but Colby is deeply in the closet and has no intention of coming out. There are sort of two parallel stories, the investigation to clear his name and find the real killer, along with the development of a relationship between Colby and Cristian and Cristian breaking some of his rules. This had tons of great reviews and I did really enjoy it although I figured out most of the mystery part very early on, but I still enjoyed it. I also thought showing how Cristian changed the way he thought about the world and relationships and his developing friendship with a young street kid was great. I did want to know more about Cristian's past. It was obvious there was abuse in it but you only got hints so I found that as frustrating as Colby did likely. LOL But it was definitely worth the time.

Truth in the Dark by Amy Lane (187 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Naef was born with a club foot and due to that has a twisted spine, badly scarred skin and is picked on by everyone in the village. However despite his horrific childhood he is an amazing wood carver and his sister's suitor has some influence in getting Naef (Knife he prefers to be called) a "job" as a companion for his cousin for a year. Although Naef's not thrilled, he wants his sister to have a real life and he figures being with a lion/man won't be any worse than his life. Aerie-Smith lives on an island under enchantment. Everyone has turned into animals on the island. When they arrive however, Naef has the opposite happen, he becomes a perfect twink. :-) Aerie-Smith tells him in one year he's found a way to break the spell then Naef can leave. They spend time getting to know each other and eventually in bed where when he is blindfolded Naef can feel Aerie-Smiths real body as it would be. Of course we all know the way to break the spell is not going to go well but there is a HEA, which I think is a bit non-traditional but highly satisfying. Naef is twisted and bitter inside from his treatment by the locals and I also found him highly amusing. His reactions to everything are so over the top that you can't help but be amused. I snorted many times reading it and Aerie-Smith's reaction were similar I think. It's hard to describe but they were prefect for each other and the interactions with the "people" on the island were amusing. It was really just an excellent interpretation of the fairy tale I enjoyed very much.

Hot Shot by Sedonia Guillone (8 pages)
Rainbow Books

This is a freebie from Rainbow Books. Paul, a photographer, is roomies with Carlo. He's been crushing on Carlo for years but Carlo goes through men like kleenex. After running home in the rain from dinner out, Carlo suddenly asks Paul to photograph him. Paul is getting turned on and Carlo is working it in his wet t-shirt and then taking it off until he finally tells Paul outright that he wants him. It's just a little friends-to-lovers interlude that was quite sexy and also sweet as Paul can't believe Carlo really wants him.

Happy yaoi-day!

So I have all this yaoi I need to get reading. Not that it takes all that long, but I can't seem to focus on paper. However thanks to my car being in the shop I had to take the bus so got a couple read. I need to get them finished within two weeks so I can take them to SF and pass them off to the next recipient.

Two of Hearts by Kano Miyamoto (190 pages)

Haruya is a writer for a magazine but has lost his motivation. He lives in the country and one day finds troubled young man Maki on the beach. He's got OCD and has been neglected by his alcoholic mother. Despite being in a relationship of sort for the last ten years with his editor and friend, he is attracted to Maki and Maki in return, although he has issues to deal with first but inspires Haruya to start working on his novel again. I quite enjoyed this story and it follows them as Maki finishes high school, gets therapy for his issues and attends college. It was a cute story and I liked the style.

The Lily and the Rose by Dany & Dany (150 pages maybe?)

Alain and Christophe are fellow students in a monastery. When they are caught fooling around Alain is ready to leave, but Christophe wants to be a priest so stays behind breaking Alain's heart. Years later they run into each other and Alain is seeking information on the man who murdered his mother and has been promised the identity of the man if he compromises Christophe so the Cardinal can blackmail Christophe into a relationship. Both men make sacrifices to "save" the other and the heartless machinations of the aristocracy are revealed. This is set during the French Revolution which is very unusual. The drawing is gorgeous with fancy gown and all the trappings of the French upper crust and I really enjoy the style these author's use. It's written "western" style so you read it like a western book, front to back rather than Japanese style.

The Selfish Demon King by Kyoko Wakatsuki (135 pages)
Novel

Shizuku is a high school student in Japan who comes home one day to find a man with horns talking to his father and brothers. The next thing he knows he's whisked to another dimension. The Demon King is determined to make him his mate. It seems that Shizuku is an incubus whose father took him to the human world to hide him as a baby. All Shizuku wants is to go back to Japan and be a normal kid, even though he likes the sex and the Demon King isn't ALL bad. I quite enjoyed this fast read. It's one of the few yaoi novels that had a touch of humour. Usually they all seem very serious but Shizuku was always telling the Demon King to behave and being a bit of a brat sometimes. It was interesting seeing Shizuku learn to accept his new life and also to accept that he is an incubus and what that means in the new world and also dealing with the manipulations inherent in a royal court. I've been kind of off the novels but this one was a fun read.

So there, I've actually read some yaoi. I'll probably try and bang through some more. I have a few of the Dany & Dany ones and I quite enjoyed this one although it says it's their longest so we'll see what's in the others. I really prefer the yaoi to be one story rather than a bunch of unrelated shorts.

12 for 12

Kind of like 7 grooms for 7 brothers (I took some literary license there :-) This is a meme thing, I guess, that Adam reminded me of this morning (even though he cheated technically) but still, I always mean to try this but it usually happens on the weekend when my life is BORING. But today I took my camera with me to work and you get 12 pictures of my exciting day. If you suddenly find you have a lump on your forehead it's because you fell asleep halfway though and banged your head on the keyboard.

Bun is enjoying his breakfast of pellets. No, he's not demonic .... as a rule.

Someone is looking kind of still asleep and wondering why I'm taking her picture. Still in bed at 7:15, out the door to the bus by 7:37, including a shower. Sigh. She got her sweater when we were visiting Mel and David in Maine.

Yet she had time to leave me a message in the frost on the car this morning. Awwww. Brrrrrr.

Gas has been soooo expensive the last couple of weeks. For those of you in the US, multiply by 4 to get the price per gallon. Yeah. Seriously.

This is where I get my tattoos and piercings, when I get them. I drive by every morning.

My building as seen on my walk from my parking spot. You can see all the cars coming into Ottawa from across the bridge in Quebec on the left. At 4:00 it's the reverse, bumper to bumper going back over the bridge.

This was the view from my old office window. Yeah. Nice huh?

This is the view from my new window. Yep, the open area, and my bosses door. Niiiiice. Sigh.

This is my messy space. I need to get rid of that stupid printer since I don't even use it. You can see my Puntabulous calendar on the wall and my lovely bowl that Vuboq gave me in front of the computer and my mug that Polt brought me from PA. It's a veritable cornucopia of Puntabu-stuff and I didn't even place it for this picture.

After work I stopped at the post office to mail my CD 5.0 for an exchange I'm in. One lucky recipient should get it in a week or so, depending on if Canada Post decides if it likes or hates me.

At the mall I saw this car drive by and I actually followed it through the parking lot so I could get a picture. It didn't appear to be for a business who often have those kind of decals all over. It was an Asian woman ... who obviously loves animal print. I think I'd like a zebra car.

Then I picked up the mail when I got home and it was a super mail day. Not a bill in sight HOWEVER we got three good things:
1) my kidlet got a letter saying she's going to get some kind of award for last year (most likely academic since she said her spirit sucks and we know she didn't have perfect attendance) so on November 4 she'll find out what the award was for at a ceremony.
2) she also got her Shawn White Wheaties box. I had asked Polt to see if he could find it in the US and we figured since there weren't any around the time of the Olympics that they likely were only in certain regions of the US. and then he found one!!!! So I told him to keep the cereal. She was thrilled to death when she got it today. She's a fan.
3) then I got my CD 4.0, um, I mean 3.0. Umm. Yeah. It says to Mikey on it. LOL But I appreciate the sentiment Justin and it does have a song by his Mom so I am looking forward to listening to it in the car tomorrow.

So there is my exciting day in pictures. Trust me, not everyday involves cool stuff in the mail or leopard print cars.

Have a super 12th and yay, it's Glee night.

Torquere Tuesday

I got a few shorter books from Torquere lately, so this post is all Torquere all the time.

I enjoyed my long weekend. Monday was a lazy day although we got most of the Halloween costume taken care of, but mostly we've just been hanging out, reading, watching TV and the kidlet working on homework. A short week will be nice.

Throw Me a Bone by Stevie Woods (25 pages)

Malcolm and Guy were best friends when Guy tells him he loves him. Things are going perfect despite the fact that Guy needs to keep their relationship a secret because of his job. Suddenly Guy is making up excuses for not being home and Malcolm sees him with another guy twice. He's sure that's never going to be enough for any man and when Guy invites him over for dinner he thinks he's going to get dumped. When Guy realizes what Malcolm thinks the truth comes out. I could see why Malcolm believed what he did, his self-esteem left him open to thinking it was he was inadequate as a lover and yes, open communication would have helped, but to be honest I identified with Malcolm so to me it didn't seem out of the realm of the possible.

Shifting Perspectives 1 by Nerine Petros (45 pages)

Oliver is a butcher in a small Outback town in Australia. He's the only gay man in a town full of shifters. As the off-spring of a human and shifter he can't shift. One day a new guy comes into town and a pack of 6 dingo shifters have moved in, exiled from their people because they are gay. At the town meeting he sees the alpha Angus who schemes to get him out to the ranch where he makes his claim. Without apparent use of lube his first time. Ouch. This is a series obviously (Book 1 gave it away LOL) and up next seems to be a mated pair and Oliver's shop assistant who is straight. Uh huh. Suuuuure. It was nice to have it in a different setting and it was kind of cool that the author put a glossary of some of the aboriginal/Aussie terms in the back, things like terms of endearment.

What to Do On a Friday Night by Misa Izanaki (20 pages)

We're back at the Body Shop and Aoi is recovering from his accident and bored. He decides to "clean" the hall closet knowing his birthday present is in there and when caught by Itzuki claims he was getting the Scrabble game and proposes a game of strip Scrabble. Seems Aoi has a thing for words, and he manages to get Itzuki to say kumquat and pirate which makes him wild. When Aya is home the next night and Aoi finds out he can say onomatopoeia, Aoi can't get the Scrabble game set up fast enough. This was a humorous little stories with the use of unusual words as a turn-on. It was very cute.


Dream a Little Dream by Amylea Lyn (170 pages)

Aiden is a Dr. at a psychiatric hospital who is starting to burn out and is especially touched by one young man Cael who is nearly 19 but there on observation. Cael has never spoke and always carries a sketch pad. He finally gets a breakthrough and is shocked to find that Cael has been sexually abused at the hospital along with other patients. He calls in his cop lover Jake and the perp gets away. It's decided that it would be best if Aiden stays in protective custody and they convince them to let Cael stay with them. Cael was in foster care since he was 7 and has a special power. He can dream the future. Both Aiden and Jake are attracted but don't want to push until eventually they give in to their feelings only to have the bad guy show up again. On the whole I enjoyed this, I was maybe a bit squicked by the fact that Adien had been Cael's Dr., and he was quite a bit younger than the men, I also though Aiden and Jake kind of jumped on the "three-whee" bandwagon pretty quickly after being exclusive for 6 years but despite these little niggles I enjoyed it, but I am a sucker for taking in the lost broken little waif and healing him with love and acceptance. It's a weakness, what can I say?

Charity Sips #4 - The Finale

Yay me, I finished off the Charity sips, with proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders. Each one has a theme of doctors or healing in someway. You can click on the cover below to get to the site, you can buy them separately or all at once. I didn't suffer burnout on this set although I spread them out a bit over about 3 weeks, so a little more than a story a day.

To be honest I haven't read much of anything the last 3 or 4 days. Kind of blah. Been rereading some stuff, playing around with writing some stuff and cleaning up my house. Did you know my dining room table is actually made of wood? Who would have guessed under all that paper and junk there was a table. I did finally get a frame for my signed poster of An Uncommon Whore that I won at Good Reads. No comment from my ex today when he came for lunch, I hung it in the living room. LOL I thought putting it over my bed might have been considered false advertising.

Since it's Thanksgiving here, it's a three day weekend. I cooked a turkey and pumpkin pie for today and when my ex brought the kidlet home he stayed for a big lunch. I'm still full to bursting. For those who have a day off tomorrow, enjoy. I'm looking forward to a day of nuthin' except maybe hunting down a Halloween costume for the kid. On with the stories.

Some Good Doctoring by BA Tortuga (11 pages)
This is set in the Roughstock world of which I'm not very familiar. Callum is a medic at the rodeo, one night while fixing up the bull riders one of them freaks out and punches him. Callum's lover, who may be small but tough, steps in to protect his man. They then head back to the hotel where they reinforce their love. I'm sure for fans of the series it will be a nice addition, but to be honest it was just a small interlude for me of an established couple.

Mind/Body Medicine by Gabriel West (27 pages)
Rindae is some kind of warrior who bonded with ... I'm not sure, but another guy, Justan. However due to the supernatural forces that bind them, Justan has gone "crazy" and had to be institutionalized and is like an animal. Despite thinking he should just break the bond, he comes every year on their anniversary to spend the night with him and maybe, just maybe this year he's showing signs of recovery. I have no idea if this was part of a larger universe but I was lost as to what the force was that controlled them and how and the bigger picture. I did get his love and care for Justan despite the fact he might never recover, but otherwise I was lost.

What You Can’t Live Without by Eden Winters (34 pages)
Mitch is an up and coming Dr. who's happy to live the good life of expensive cars, the opera, lunch at the country club, etc. He's in love with his colleague from El Salvador, Arnulfo. He really doesn't get that Arnulfo drives a rust bucket and sends money home and is crushed when Arnulfo tells him he's returning to El Salvador. When an earthquake strikes, he feels compelled to go find Arnulfo and gets himself roped into volunteering even though his plan is to get Arnulfo and get out. Things never work out the way you plan and when he realizes his help is needed, he's forced to reassess his way of looking at the world, especially when Arnulfo is the only remaining relative of a small injured girl. A very sweet story about figuring out what's really important in life and making compromises. The setting in El Salvador in an earthquake zone was very vivid. A really great read although at first I wasn't too impressed with Mitch's attitude, which was the point I suppose. :-)

The Boyfriend Line by Avery Zeno (20 pages)
David and Rafe were best friends and roommates and finally became lovers, but Rafe said his perfect relationship was friends with benefits. David has been trying desperately not to cross the "boyfriend line" of the title, but when Rafe takes a message for him from his oncologist and is pissed that David didn't share with him, they FINALLY have a talk about what they both want. It takes place over about 18 months as David finds he does have cancer and they deal with treatment and their developing relationship. A really nice story about sticking it out through the tough times.

Pasion’s Dream by Kate Cotoner (27 pages)
Set in ancient Greece, Pasion suffers badly from insomnia so goes to a temple to seek help. While there he runs into his old lover Kyronides who was injured and is now scarred and blind. Pasion left him because Kyronides' father had big plans for him and threatened Pasion. They both admit that they still love each other and Pasion finds a cure for his illness through dreams of the gods and is determined to take Kyronides with him and find a cure for him in another land. A very interesting setting and how they thought about illness, that the north wind would dry up black bile and the interpretation of dreams. Some stories never change, 3000 years ago there were still parents who threatened their kid's lovers. Kind of sad really.

All in all I have to say I was very impressed with this anthology. There were very few stories I didn't connect with and most of those were because they were set in pre-existing worlds I'm not all that familiar with, but those fans probably will love the additions and visits with old friends. And it's always nice when the money goes to a good cause.

Charity Sips #4

Woohoo, I've been flying along on the Charity sips, with proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders. Each one has a theme of doctors or healing in someway. You can click on the cover below to get to the site, you can buy them separately or all at once. I've been trying not to over-do it and get burned out but I find they are all so different it's easy to keep powering through.

Dreggers Deep by J. Rocci (30 pages)
Tulley is the right hand man for a mine owner. He has been tasked to take the new doctor down in the mines to treat the men. He is shocked to find it's his old lover Edmund. He's shocked and a bit pissed but does his job which includes fighting off thieves who attack them in the night and he is injured. This is a steampunk short and I think it did a pretty good job of getting the steampunk feel in a few pages, along with old lovers with hurt between them reuniting.

The Pavilion by Tracy Rowan (20 pages)
Eliot is an ex-pat Brit who now works in a clinic in Chicago. He's starting spending more time at a local diner where he's become attracted to Jamie, the young son of the owner. (Young being 27 or so.) Jamie finally makes a play for him and despite both of them saying no strings, that lasts about 15 min. There is a whole back story of why Eliot came to the US and his heartbreak. The story hops around between 2003 and 2010 and some in the middle. I'm not sure it couldn't have just been told in chronological order, but it was a nice story about a second chance at love.

Borders by Kathryn Scannell (25 pages)
Kevin works for Doctors without Borders in Gaza City. He finally gets a break and goes to Tel Aviv where he hits a gay bar. Things aren't going great but he finally meets a guy that he recognizes from Gaza City who was disguised as a woman. Seems David is an Israeli soldier in a top secret unit. Because Kevin knows, will he have him arrested or kicked out of the country? A very interesting setting with the threat of death for being gay in Palestine and yet David was very open about being gay with his fellow army buddies and the general public. Not sure it's really that way in Israel, but I thought the story was very well done.

Eyes Wide Shut by Meredith Shayne (29 pages)
Adam is a fly in doctor to the mining area in Australia. He recently broke up with his BF Chris who works at the mines. You find it out primarily because Chris refuses to be open about their relationship. When Adam is involved in a mine cave-in and they don't know if he's alive Chris has a chance to get his priorities straight. Another nice story set in another location. I felt for Adam as he coped with being a dirty little secret.

On Call: Crossroads by PD Singer (28 pages)
This is the continuing story of Dante and Keith and very timely in light of what's happened in the last few weeks with the rash of young men committing suicide. Keith is devastated that he couldn't help a young man who died and he suspects killed himself for being gay. He feels maybe he should be doing something more useful like going abroad to help and Dante informs him that he'd go with him which sets off another chain of events when the two men take their relationship to the next level of commitment. This was very touching and as I said, I'm sure when the author wrote this she couldn't have known that these last few weeks would have the issue so in the news and in everyone's consciousness. Very touching.

You Don’t Need a Doctor by Julia Talbot (15 pages)
A gun shot victim comes into the ER and doctor Andy finds it very odd, the wound is festering, the bullet appears to be working it's way out and the guy is very hairy. He gets the bullet out and the guy takes off, only to show up in his apartment eating Popeye's chicken a few days later. Despite being freaked, Andy sleeps with him and oops, Shiloh bites him. Uh oh. Andy finds out that werewolves, vampires, pixies and others creatures aren't just the stuff of fairy tales. There was a touch of humour in here which made it an enjoyable story, a few more pages might have improved it even more, but on the whole it was a nice light break from more serious themes.

It's Hump Day!

Before I get onto the book stuff I want to give a gigantic high five to KB of Babbling About Books, and More. KB stepped up to the plate in a very real way and offered $500 cash to be split between The Trevor Project and the Matthew Shepard Foundation if 500 people commented on her post. A few other friends jumped on the bandwagon with her and in the end, within 48 hours the word spread, the comments mounted and the two charities are now splitting $775. I know not everyone is able to help in a financial way, but the support behind KB's efforts also counts for a lot and I want to congratulate everyone for helping two very worthwhile projects in a big way. Yay KB for making a difference.

Electric Melty Tingles by KZ Snow (101 pages)
Loose Id

Ned and Oliver have been friends for years and Ned's in love with Oliver, who is straight and about to get married. He calls up Ned freaking out, leaves the bride at the altar and takes off with Ned to Seattle until the storm dies down. He confesses he's gay and Ned's in heaven. They have 5 days of bliss and then reality sets in and it's 15 years before they manage to reconnect. Despite moving on, neither manages to forget the other. Most of the story takes place in 1970 (is that an historical) but it ends in 2010. It was a beautiful story and while I don't generally like separations like that, it didn't last that long on page and I think it made sense for the time and their lives. It was an adorable ending, and yes, there is an m/m/m/m menage scene which some people may find ... objectionable maybe? but I thought War and his "lickin' stick" were appropriate. I think everyone will enjoy this poignant, but not sad, story.

Code Blue by Stephani Hecht (99 pages)
eXtasy Books

This is another story in the EMS Heat series. Dylan and Kaleb from the last book are doing great, when out of the blue Clayton, Dylan's childhood friend and ex of sorts, shows up hoping to rekindle their relationship. Justin, Kaleb's best friend is pissed, and thinks Clayton is going to try and break up Dylan and Kaleb. Despite his better judgment, he's attracted to the innocent young man and invites him to stay with him, in part to avoid Dylan being around him. It seems the reason Clayton didn't support Dylan when it all went to hell was because his super-religious family had him committed. Once playboy Justin gets to know him, he can't help but be more attracted by Clayton's strength. There was lots of humour in this as Clayton takes up swearing and becomes totally addicted to The Jersey Shore (god help us all) when he's allowed to watch TV. The blurb makes it sound like Clayton's more of a brat, but he's not in the story, he was a sweetie and it was an enjoyable addition to the series.

The First Real Thing by Cat Grant (116 pages)
Elora's Cave

Cameron is a high end escort and one night he meets his client in the bar and is strangely attracted, but when he leaves with his envelope of money it contains a plane ticket. Ooops, he picked up the wrong guy, not his client. Trev is from Toronto and when he comes back to town invites Cameron out thinking he's just a guy. Cameron is a bit freaked, he doesn't have a private life but he really likes Trev and he starts to think maybe it's time to get out of the business. Just as he's about to buy a friend's bar, Trev brings his teen son with him to meet Cameron and the son has awesome google-fu skills and seems to have found Cameron's website. Double oops. Not a great response when Trev finds out the truth. I enjoyed this story and it was told as if Cameron was writing a blog about his life so that was a bit different and watching him change his mind about the business and the secondary story of his ill and dying friend was a nice touch.

Shared Range by Andrew Grey (192 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

This is another addition to the Bottle Up series. Philip had a wild fling with a cowboy on the last cruise, Dakota, and they've stayed friends. Philip invites himself out to visit and brings along his best friend Wally who just finished vet school. Dakota is waaaaay in the closet and has been caring for his father for several years who has MS. Despite trying to stay in the closet, he's insanely attracted to Wally and even their differences about the wolves from the local park who ranchers as a rule want to kill, don't stifle their romance. Dakota is no longer able to keep it from his men, nor eventually his father. Thankfully everyone is mostly okay, but Wally has to decide if he can live in Wyoming, Matthew Shepard country, as a gay man. It moves pretty fast, within a couple of weeks Dakota asks Wally to move in, but it's typical Andrew Grey and I do enjoy the stories and the style appeals to me. Not tons of angst and the relationship Dakota had with his ill father was nice. I really hope Philip gets his HEA soon, poor guy. Everyone he sleeps with falls madly in love ... with someone else.

Charity Sips #3

I've been continuing to enjoy the Charity sips here and there, with proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders. Each one has a theme of doctors or healing in someway. You can click on the cover below to get to the site, you can buy them separately or all at once.

Take it Slow by Taylor Lochland (24 pages)
Graham is a marathon runner who wrecked his knee. His Russian-born doctor Dmitri tells him to take it easy but he refuses, injuring himself again. When he runs into the Dr. at a race they decide to hang out together. Graham makes a move but Dmitri kind of freaks because he lived for so long in Russia hiding who he is, he can't just fall into bed with someone. And sweet story of taking it slow and the reasons behind Graham's determination to push himself further than is physically wise.

Little Fishes by Syd McGinley (32 pages)
This is Tommy and Tanaka story from the Dr. Fell universe. Tanaka is taking Tommy to meet his mother and sister who run a health spa for the first time. Tommy is very nervous and is not impressed to find out that Tanaka has kept some very large secrets from him about his family. I don't follow these stories although I read one other story about Tommy and Tanaka in an anthology. For fans of the couple or the whole Dr. Fell universe it will be an enjoyable addition.

Homecoming: A Jarheads Short by Sean Michael (15 pages)
Rig was away volunteering to help in a hurricane zone for a few weeks and is looking forward to being home. Rock and Dick meet him at the airport for a surprise and they spend the night getting reacquainted at a local hotel. This obviously takes place a bit later in their relationship and this is another series I don't really follow but have read a few stories here and there. Again for fans, I'm sure they'll love seeing the three guys back together.

My Life in Your Hands by AR Moler (24 pages)
Chris is an ER Dr. in a tough inner-city San Diego hospital and deals with a lot of gang violence. After the death of a young man he talks with Drew, the cop on the case. They end up meeting again and fall into a relationship of sorts given they both have insane schedules. Chris is almost feral when they get together and Drew finally figures out that Chris is on the knife edge of burn out and only his short times with Drew are keeping him from going over. Only when Drew is injured and Chris has to save his life does Chris make some changes. I really liked this story a lot, you could feel the stress that Chris was living in and one short I'd read again.

Have Hope by Emily Moreton (23 pages)
John is a spy of sorts who is on the run after being shot and not making contact with his target. He is rescued by Mohammed, a Dr. who takes him in and cares for him as he recovers. They spend the next several days getting to know each other and become attracted, but really, it's a war, John is a spy and Mohammed is needed in his clinic, is there any chance for them? The unusual setting made this one a good read and the hopeful ending leant itself well to the setting. For those who care it's in present tense which is not my favourite but it seemed to work for this one quite well.

The Rosebud by M. Raiya (22 pages)
James comes across an accident between a logging truck and a car. When he sees the driver of the car he can tell his neck is broken, however James has a special skill, he can heal people by touching them. The downside is he always falls in love with them no matter who they are. He can't not help Ambient (hippy parents) and he's particularly drawn to Ambient. He has always been afraid that if he actually hooked up with someone he cured, would he then dump them the next time he cured someone and fell in love with them? Now it seems like he'll find out. An interesting premise with a twist on traditional healing.

I'm still finding them all quite interesting and diverse. Being able to read one or two between other books has really been making it less overwhelming I think.